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RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND THE CIVIL STATUS IN THE VERDICT OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

Source

Abstract

The article deals with the question if an official teacher at a regular German public school is allowed to wear a religious headscarf during her lessons. Handling this question the Federal Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany came to the following conclusion: In a controversial decision it pointed out that there would be no adequate base in the federal state laws to forbid the teachers to wear headscarfs at school and during the school lessons. On the other hand the Federal Constitutional Court decided that the legislator has all chances to reform the laws dealing with all the religious matters at public schools. Watching the background of the growing cultural and religious plurality in the German society, the question came up asking if it is realistic and reasonable to wear a headscarf in a public school according to the priciple of the disestablishment between state and church and the worldviewing neutrality of the state. Is it possible for the teacher, who is because of her civil servant status real close to the neutral state, to call on her freedom of religion and stay in class with the demonstration of a headscarf as a religious symbol. The Federal Constitutional Court has no decisive position in this case. The upcoming question was only answered by them deciding that there would be no strict prohibition of a headscarf in the education in any law. With this decision made by the Court there are neither the fully protectionists of the disestablishment of state and church nor the supporters of the multi-cultural integration totally satisfied. The one group wants to have a general prohibition for all civil servants, whereas the other group criticises such a prohibition as a rude breach of individual religious liberty.

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